Paciencia

Patience is something we all need to learn to acquire. I feel that the value of patience can be useful in so many ways. Without it, how are we living our lives? What does this word mean for you? I started learning to have patience at a young age. I distinctly remember one day (as a kid) waiting for the Macaroni & Cheese (one of my favorite meals) to cook. I was starving and wanted to eat NOW! I had checked with my parents to see how long it would take. They told me to find something to do while I waited. I headed to my room to read a book (not really, I was not a big reader as a kid) as dinner cooked. A while later, I returned to the kitchen where my parents kindly replied: "Thank you for being patient."

We all learn to be patient at some point. In school, at work, in relationships, patience is, yes you guessed it, a virtue.

If you have ever traveled outside of the United States, you have noticed, that NOT being patient while submersed in a different culture, may not get you very far. Besides, you are out of your element and should respect the culture you are in. This is their way of life. You are no longer in the prevalent rush hour of the American norm. I have learned while being in Nicaragua, that it is culturally acceptable to NOT arrive early anywhere you go. I have encountered many other factors that having "patience" plays a big role in.

Here are some every day issues that I personally do not care for, but are every day events that occur in Nicaragua. I am not blaming the culture or the people. I am living in the moment and breathing every second of the Nicaraguan lifestyle. Without patience, I feel I will miss out on something valuable while I am here.

Patience is that time when:

• You have no water to shower and will have to take bucket baths for the next four days granted your family has saved water to prepare for the days there will be no water.
• Loud "Bombas" (bombas are similar to loud bottle rockets that are shot off at random times of the night or day and I believe are related to the churches) fire off at 4 A.M. and you cannot go back to sleep.
• The bus is packed and you are the only foreigner on the bus carrying an abnormally large back pack and you have no room to move or breathe. 
• You think the bus is over-packed, but they continue to cram as many people in until people are hanging out the front and back of the bus just so they can earn their money´s worth for the day.
• The guy transporting you in the moto-taxi quotes you price in the beginning then a different price in the end.
• You are dropped off in a small town to teach a class and end up waiting for what seems hours for the next bus to pass by.
• You have to pay to use the most grotesque public restrooms because you are no where near your home.
• The schedule you are use to following changes with out you knowing. (I hear this happens to volunteers all the time. One will show up to school to teach a class, but classes are cancelled and somehow you are the only one that does not know.)
• The local cyber cafe is closed on the day that you were told by the owner himself would be open.
• There is no more coffee.
• You need to be at the local bus stop at 4 A.M. to catch the only bus that leaves for your destination that day.
• Internet connection is poor and you are unable to have a complete and solid conversation with your family or significant other in the states.
• You are lost in translation.
• You have to eat Gallo-Pinto for the 100th time in a row because it is the national dish that can be served for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
• You currently live with a 5 year old boy and 2 year old girl who are not the most disciplined and well behaved kids and are constantly screaming, biting, fighting, crying, and pulling your hair!
• Loud speaker advertisements drive by your house while you are asleep. 
• The dogs constantly bark and the rooster crows at 3 A.M.
• The buses that stay overnight next to your house, start up at 4 A.M.
• The sun feels excessively close.
• The bus breaks down in the middle of no where to leave you pouring down sweat.

I know it sounds like I am complaining. Okay, maybe I am just a little. These are all events, that I have learned to be patient with. These are every day occurrences and thus I have only experienced three months in country, I know there will be more to come. 

Like I mentioned before, I feel patience is an important aspect of life, especially while living abroad. I am here to learn about the culture and integrate myself into the culture to learn more about the people and their lifestyle so that I may offer my help in return. Without being patient, there is no doubt that I will miss out immersing myself into such a beautiful country that has a lot to offer while I am here. My time is short here, so I need to be thankful for every second so that I may provide my help to a country that has opened their arms allowing me to live among their culture and in the lives of its people.